


All the things nice

by zmeischa



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-08
Updated: 2014-05-08
Packaged: 2018-01-24 00:27:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1585019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zmeischa/pseuds/zmeischa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What is Joanna Lannister made of?</p>
            </blockquote>





	All the things nice

Many thanks to [darkling](http://archiveofourown.org/users/darkling/pseuds/darkling) for beta-reading!

 

He likes her innocence.

Innocence is a quality he usually despises. It suggests the absence of knowledge, therefore the absence of power. Whenever someone calls him ‘an innocent child’ he takes it as a slight and seeks to avenge it.

When he sees Joanna for the first time she is eleven, slim, svelte, coltish and obviously innocent, a contrast to Genna who knows too much too early. And yet he can’t dismiss her as ignorant or vapid because she is neither. She makes him recall the other meaning of ‘innocent’ – free of guilt. Tywin has seen his share of vice, sees it every day, both in his father and around him, but he can’t imagine any of it ever tainting Joanna, can’t imagine her lecherous, weak, lazy, deceitful, greedy. She is the good thing in the bad world.

He admires her purity.

Purity means transparence and emptiness, which are qualities that men value in their future wives. A pure maid is someone you could fill with yourself and know that no other draught mixes with your own or pollutes it. There is nothing he hates more than an impure woman, a whore. Only the cleanest vessel is worthy of him.

Joanna is something else entirely. She walks through the Red Keep, the dirtiest place on earth, and not a particle of filth sticks to her. There is a rumor that King Aerys lusts after her, but the rumor leaves her purer than ever because she clearly refuses the royal advances. And yet it’s impossible to see her as an empty bowl waiting to be filled to the brim, she is so full of plans, secrets, ideas, feelings and smiles. Her purity is that of a mountain stream, too swift to be polluted.

He values her sincerity.

Flattery is very useful, of course. When people flatter you it means that they deem you formidable and bountiful, it’s a token of respect. And yet flattery is a luxury while honest counsel is essential. Men who can speak their minds and have any minds to speak of are priceless, and like all priceless things they are very rare. Genna is open-hearted, but blunt to the point of being tactless. Gerion speaks a lot of outright nonsense. Tygett keeps his thoughts to himself and does a great service to the world. Kivan sincerely agrees with Tywin.

Joanna is honest. When she gives her wedding vows Tywin knows that she means every word. He doesn’t normally smile, but he smiles on his wedding day.

He loves her strength.

A strong woman is an unappealing concept. At best it is a warrior like Queen Nymeria, brave, fierce, victorious, but clearly unfit for the marriage bed. At worst it is a shrew, a scold with a furrowed brow and a querulous voice, a woman determined to have her way no matter what, a wearer of breeches, an ever-clucking hen who pecks her husband every hour of every day.

Joanna is sharp. She is Valyrian steel, a sword given to him in replacement of his lost heirloom. People say she rules over him and Tywin knows that it’s true. It’s a blessing that he doesn’t mind her power because he’s not sure he’d have the upper hand if he rebelled. He never does.

He is enthralled with her resemblance to himself.

To tell the truth, he is not particularly good-looking. Imposing, yes, but no maiden’s dream. Gerion is the most handsome in the family, let him hold that title. Tywin is vain of many things, but his appearance in not one of them. And yet, golden hair, green eyes and proud stature is the beauty for him. All women who are not Lannisters are somehow wanting. Joanna is perfect.

Years later, when he learns of his children’s incest, the first thing he feels — before wrath, before horror, before disgust — is understanding.

He never remarries.


End file.
